Syndrome & New Balance Are Sweet On Candy
March 17, 2009Los Angeles-based directing collective Syndrome has concocted an irresistible new batch of confectionary goodness in the latest :30 spot for New Balance via Ryan Partnership. Chosen to help launch the Candy Collection, New Balance’s colorfully cool new brand of footwear for tweens, Syndrome have taken inspiration from old school pinball machines, childhood board games and the tasty sweets we all remember as kids to deliver a surreal sugarcoated ride through an elaborate gumball machine.
About Syndrome: LA-based design and directing collective Syndrome are united by a deep-seated, shared love for art and innovation where creativity is the core of their existence. Syndrome has been directing commercials, music videos, and instillations for nearly a decade, and have worked with some of the biggest artists in the industry including: P. Diddy, Kanye West, T-Pain, Erykah Badu, John Legend, 50-Cent, Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, and Chris Brown to name a few. Syndrome has worked with heavyweights such as TBWA/Chiat/Day, Warner Bros, NBC and CBS directing campaigns and creating motion graphics for brands such as Converse featuring Mos Def, Bud Select, NASCAR on Fox and the main title sequence for the feature film ATL. They have been nominated for awards such as MTV VMA’s, UK Music Video Awards, and Music Choice VOD Awards. www.syndromestudio.com
The Credits: Client: New Balance Spot Title: Candy Air Date: March 2009
Agency: Ryan Partnership AD: Sheryl Seigel Agency Producer: Ryan Conover
Prod Company: Syndrome Director: Syndrome DP: Syndrome EP: Monica Blackburn
Post/Effects: Syndrome EP: Monica Blackburn
Editorial: Syndrome
Sound Designer/Composer: Michael Genato
Syndrome Flies For Dyrdek’s MTV Fantasy Factory
March 1, 2009LA-based directing collective and design/animation group Syndrome just rolled out the show open for Rob Dyrdek’s new MTV show Fantasy Factory. The graphically explosive sequence shows renowned street skater Rob Dyrdek bouncing rapidly through a colorful fantasyland of pipes, ramps, and funnels leading from city streets to twisting pipeworks to the mouth of a lion, among other incredible scenes. Dyrdek’s mascot, Meaty - a mainstay from his original show, Rob and Big - of course accompany him on this rapid-fire montage, joined by new puppy and sidekick Beefy.
Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, which launched on MTV on Feb. 8, revolves around a fantasy warehouse in Los Angeles loaded with an incredible skate park, a giant skate ramp launching into a foam pit, a basketball court, Dyrdek’s office loaded with his massive collection of skate decks, and “Corpo,” a corporate office on the second floor that houses his lawyer, toy designer, and executives, among others. Dyrdek will include a whole cast of characters, including an SUV named Stormtrooper, a three-wheeled car named T-Rex that can outrace a Ferrari, and, of course, his dogs Meaty and Beefy.
“Syndrome killed the open,” said Rob Dyrdek. “I wanted something that captured the insanity of what we’re doing with this show and they nailed it. From the live action skating, to the funky graphics - it really sets up the kind of Willy-Wonka fun that we have on the show.”
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Animated Feature Film 9 – Trailer
January 10, 20099 is a feature length animated film written and directed by Shane Acker, which re-tells the age old story of good against evil. The film centres on a society of ‘rag-dollesque’ people who live their lives in constant fear of an enemy intent on the destruction of the remains of civilisation. When the main character “9″ (voiced by Elijah Wood) first comes to life he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where others like him spend their days hiding in fear of a terrifying mechanical beast. 9 emerges as an unlikely leader who convinces his comrades that to survive they must take the offensive and fight.
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| Shane Acker has previously likened the rag-doll characters in his film to the Jawas from Star Wars, almost scavengers of the land that “ take things and sort of keep them inside themselves until there comes a moment which they need them or can use them”. |
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| Acker has explained the philosophy behind the number naming of his main character: “ 9 was about as close as you can get to perfection. You know, let’s say perfection is 10. So I think that we can never achieve that perfection. We’re always flawed – every one of us. And I think 9 represents as close as you can ever possibly get to that perfection.” |
Robot Films’ Syndrome Thinks Outside the Box for T-Pain
January 10, 2009Every so often a music video comes along that breaks new ground with its creativity, and this trilogy of videos for T-Pain helmed by directing collective Syndrome out of Robot Films is a perfect example of just that. Utilizing vibrant color fluctuations, Syndrome was able to launch these videos into a realm all their own. In Can’t Believe It, the plethora of unique ingredients include miniature apparitions of T-Pain and Lil Wayne and a cyber-roller coaster ride among other things. An ongoing galactic backdrop, with simultaneous circus and carnival themes make the video nearly impossible to classify. In Chopped and Screwed, T-Pain and fellow hip hop star, Ludacris are portrayed in an animated wonder world with T-Pain depicted as a lion and transforming scenarios. The bold colors and elaborate camera moves transcend us into an extravagant, surreal world.
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| “These videos have been an amazing experience for us. T-Pain and Jive gave us their full trust and creative freedom to bring our flavor to their already unique aesthetic. We are grateful for the opportunity and realize how rare that is, especially in today’s market. With that said, it was important for us to establish a cohesive look and feel which played off the album’s cover as this series of videos were specifically designed to be an overall branding campaign for T-Pain.” Syndrome comments on T-Pain project. |
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| “Upon shooting Can’t Believe It, it was clear that this was going to be a lot of fun and something special. The vibe and energy clicked very naturally between Pain and ourselves and that energy spilled all over these videos. It’s one thing to have an artist stand in front of a green screen and perform, but when they interact and play off of what the treatment calls for, that interaction takes it to another level by adding the emotion and soul. T-Pain really went hard with his performances and got what we were going for ultimately being the key ingredient to bringing the concepts to fruition.” Syndrome elaborates on T-Pain work. |
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| “When we were first kicking around ideas for Can’t Believe It, it was important to all of us that we find a way to reference all the far flung locations in Pain’s lyrics in a fresh and imaginative way. Chartering a 747 for a week long shoot in Aspen, Wisconsin, Costa Rica and Toronto proved not to be cost effective, so we decided that a post-intensive approach was the way to go. From there, it was a no brainer that Syndrome were right for the job. We were all tremendous fans of their work and had been looking forward to an opportunity to work with them. Little did we know the end result would surpass all expectations and blow our collective minds. The way the guys perfectly captured T-Pain’s charisma, humor and imagination, highlighting those qualities and more with their ground breaking visuals, it was clear that they would do all three of the videos we had slated. What we didn’t know was that they would achieve the near impossible by topping their previous effort each time out. I have never gotten so many enthusiastic calls and emails about a series of videos. I can’t wait to see what the guys come up with next. I just hope it’ll be for one of my projects.” Max Nichols, VP of Video Production at Zomba Label Group. |
